This probably isn’t the most novel observation in the world, but it would certainly seem that a great many people get “tricked” into spending more than they normally would by the lure of coupons and discounts (cue Captain Obvious). These “fake-ish” coupons and deals come from everywhere: newspaper clippings, TV and radio offers, Internet promotions, fliers, smartphone apps. We are inundated in the idea of saving money—from piggy bank iconography in our childhood to the very real need to save for retirement as we grow older. If there’s the word “save” and the dotted line around a box, it feels and looks like savings.

But are you really saving money if you’re spending it? That seems to be a paradox. The money you just spent is not actually still in your pocket, contrary to what many advertisers would have you believe (you might remember common advertisements slogans such as “spend more, save more!”). But beyond just a general distaste from deceptive advertising, what can we learn from those pesky “coupons and discounts” that actually burn holes in our pockets?

A 25% discount off your overall purchase may seem like a great deal and in many cases it can be. However, many people will take this 25% discount and use it as an incentive to buy more than they normally would. You can actually hear people in grocery stores—almost a moment of revelation—saying “Well, we have this coupon, we might as well buy more.” (Lord knows the thought has crossed my mind a few times).

These type of mental thinking and purchasing decision is exactly what the marketers who issued the coupon wanted to hear, and they have not been let down – the same applies for the typical “Buy 2 and Save” marketing method (99% of the time you don’t need to buy two items to get the sales price). You end up not saving money and in most cases, over-spending because of the illusory idea of saving. If you’ve over bought on groceries that have spoiled before, you know how it is.

This an an age-old predicament that has received new life from the Internet and even newer developments like social media and location based services. If you accidentally signed up to the wrong service, you’ll be hard pressed to escape from the barrage of messages advertisers and marketers want you to hear. Check-in now to receive a free dessert!  Order an entree and get a free drink! Old marketing spin, new distribution channel.

So what are we left with, a culture of “buy more, and save more? ” The good news is that when the noise is so much, it gets easier to ignore (yes, even with the marketing messages from newer technology). You can easily add handy new tools to your web browser to filter the noise out more (AdBlock etc), remind yourself to always turn off push notifications on that latest deal application you’ve just installed, and make little habit changes such as clipping coupons on items you’ll actual use.  My wife and I usually just cross check it with our shopping list, if its not on it and we don’t need it in the immediate future, we don’t bother with the coupon or discount.

You can also take the handy dandy cynicism attitude and approach everything and everyone as if they’re going to try to cheat you out of your hard-earn dollars, but I’ve learned from personal experience that this approach is tiring and makes everyone hate you. I’m just saying.

picture credits: got milk from bluewaikki, coupon pic from group0wn.

So its April 17th and you’re doing your taxes the very last minute. Good news, you just got an email or text from Intuit saying your e-file was REJECTED.

Fudge?

I just experienced this problem over the weekend and the annoying part was that neither TurboTax nor IRS has very clear instruction on this particular situation. I used the AGI method to verify my e-file identity. I have my exact 2010 1040 tax return on the table and I’m reading line 37 correctly, I even double checked if there was a fat finger mistake but still the e-file return was rejected, what gives?

Here’s what TurboTax immediately tells you to do: head into the software, or online version of TurboTax to fix the error, and if you click around and follow the instructions, TurboTax will usually recommend you to request your e-file PIN at the IRS website (takes less than 60 second). The problem is if you’re in my particular situation and follow TurboTax’s instruction to the letter, you will most likely receive this message:

We are unable to provide you with your tax information online.

Wonderful. So you call the automated hotline at 1-866-704-7388 and the robot tells you everything is peachy as you give them your personal information. But still your PIN doesn’t work — or your AGI, while correct, still gets the efile rejected.

Here’s what TurboTax and IRS didn’t give clear instruction on after receiving the error message above:

If you did not file a return in 2010 or you are a first time filer over age 16, enter “0″ (zero) in the Prior Year Adjusted Gross Income field when you electronically sign your tax return or other electronic tax forms.

What they really meant was: if you did not E-FILE in 2010, regardless if you use your PIN or AGI method to verify your identity during e-file, your return will probably get rejected.  The IRS doesn’t have your AGI or E-FILE PIN in their master file database.

So you’ll need to enter “0″ (zero) in the AGI field to sign your return, even though you’re most likely over the age of 16, and you most likely have filed a return before in 2010 (but not e-file).

This method generally works, even though most of the support forums in TurboTax tells you to request a new PIN. But the funny part is requesting a new PIN will result in the error message above: “unable to provide information online”.  I opted to try the “0″ method and it worked within a few hours for me, my return was accepted:

I’m fairly certain I e-filed in 2010 and I have a working PIN, but for whatever reason entering 0 (no decimal, just the number) works. YMMV though as I read through about twenty support threads and it works for some people, but doesn’t work for others.

TurboTax will tell you that you’ll get a notification in 24-48 hours, but base on my rejection and approval history, things usually get checked out within 8 hours or less:

At this point though, if you haven’t already finish, you really should just file an extension and pay what you owe (if any) – just in case. Last thing you’ll need is the hassle of dealing with penalties from the IRS.

Finally, the last tip of the day is to avoid doing taxes last minute (I personally had a good reason, honest!) – it’ll save you the frustration and potential computer drama. You know how it goes: printers, computers always fails when you need it most.

Related Resources:

• TurboTax Federal Free Edition – Free if you have a simple tax return. Online version.
• IRS Rejection / Error Code List - Error Reject Code 0679 was the one in question
• Resolving an E-File Rejection – Guided Steps on fixing the problem

Last week, I went to my local mall for the first time in many months (or was it years?). As I strolled around, taking in the sights and the bustle of our consumerist Mecca, I couldn’t help but notice all the sales I saw advertised at every major clothing retailer. JCrew and Anthropologie had multiple racks with deeply discounted items. Brooks Brothers and Macy’s had a 40% and 25% sale on every piece of clothing in the store, respectively (yes this is exactly how I shop, I take notes of discounts for future blog post that will never be written). The more I walked the more I realized that there were considerable “sales” all around me.

But the widespread nature of the sales does not mean that all clothing items were reduced or that customers were bound to walk away with discounted purchases without exerting too much effort. In fact, it was the contrary. Although stores were quick to advertise their sales in posters and entranceway signage, an actual examination of these stores revealed that there were still plenty of items priced just as high as ever. The differences between a full and half-priced item seemed to be minimal and random. In some stores, all lingerie was heavily discounted while jackets remained at full price. In others, some jackets would be surprisingly cheap while others were shockingly expensive.  The funny thing is that there’s some real science behind the arrangement of stores, from packaging, visual of placements, to eye tracking technology, even if it all seems maddening random and chaotic at times.

Of course, sometimes you come across weird gaps in thinking at certain stores. At Gap, for example, the price for a pair of blue jeans ranged from $9.99 (on sale) to $170 (full price). The two pairs of jeans at the edges of this spectrum both looked nice, both fit well, and both were labeled with relatively reputable brands. But there was a full $160 difference between the two. Pretty ridiculous. I personally wouldn’t cough up $170 for a pair of jeans – especially if a similar $10 pair could be found only several racks down. If someone frequently buys their clothes at this pacing, they’ll probably need a title loan to cover that difference.

This is all to say that the frugal shopper really has little reason to buy items at full price these days, because there’s always a “sales” around the corner or a 50% off sign somewhere, and the problem is that a good number of times, these sales signs are a mix-bag in terms of savings. The fact is, as long as you plan ahead (and are willing to buy winter clothes during the spring), willing to buy online, don’t need to own the absolute latest styles, and have some flexibility with your purchase preferences (i.e., you don’t leave for the mall thinking “I must get a red suit jacket today”), then there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to focus on the actual savings and ignore the “sales” that are meant to play with your mind.

 Relevant Reading:

• Are Sale Signs Less Effective When More Products Have Them?

Nope. Not one of those “get paid to work for Google” scammy ads. You can get up to $25 in Amazon gift card from Google by signing up to their Screenwise panel. Essentially you get $5 for downloading the Chrome browser and installing the extension. You then get $5 for every three month you stay with the panel program (up to $25 max).

Personally I wouldn’t want my personal data to be shared like this, even if its in aggregated/anonymous format, but for those that don’t care or mind, this is easy enough “free” money (in the form of Amazon gift cards anyways).

Here’s the full gist of the program:

• You can sign up at the Google Screenwise program page
• You must be 13 or older (surprisingly low age threshold)
• Have a Google account (or will sign-up for one)
• Using the Chrome web browser
• You’ll eventually get instructions on how to install the extension and join the program through Google’s panel management partner, Knowledge Networks

The sign-up page at Google shows that the maximum payout is $25 (total of 12 months plus initial $5 they give you for signing up). However in the fine print Google notes that it may extend the research beyond 12 months if there is a need/fit.

Please note that I am assuming data being shared are on an aggregated or anonymous format, but you should check with the full program terms before you start using it on a day-to-day basis. I doubt the purpose of the program/panel will be recording your bank login information etc., but when you install additional extensions to your browser, you add new potential security risk.

If anything, I suppose people can always sign-up to the program and opt-out of the program after the initial gift card is given to you. *shrug*

Wow. Just when I thought the whole Visa Signature stuff is at times pointless, out comes a fairly nice promotion from Southwest Airlines and Visa. Not sure why I didn’t see this promotion earlier.

The deal is pretty straight forward:

• Visit VISA’s deal page to check if you qualify.
• As long as you’re a Visa Signature card holder, you’ll be presented with a Southwest promo code after verifying
• You’ll have to input your email address before they give you the promo code
• Search for flights on either Southwest or SWABIZ, or use the tool on the VISA page

The fare saver codes are available from Jan 20th to April 30th, 2011. Works at Southwest.com or SWABIZ.com. Codes are valid for travel between Jan 20th through June 1st, 2011.  The code works only ONCE and you’ll only be issued one code per Visa Signature card you own, so use them wisely.

Here are the blackout dates:

• April 21, 2011 through April 25, 2011
• May 20, 2011 through May 24, 2011.

Despite the blackout dates, this is still a very good deal, considering you can get an easy 15% off the lowest “Wanna Get Away” fare and its real saving especially if you do a cross country trip.  I generally take Southwest for their daily shuttles from SNA to SFO, but they’re perfectly fine for long-haul transcontinental trips too.  If I recall correctly, my pal Jim at Bargaineering is a raving Southwest fan.

I hate to admit it, but I can be a real judgmental prick sometimes.

Since starting this blog eons ago, my general personal finance philosophy has been this:

If you can really afford it, spend it.

But there are those moments where I’ll just cringe and think to myself: “God, what an ass.”

My first encounter with status symbol was many years ago, back in elementary school. For a period of time, my sister and I had reduced price on lunch due to family income eligibility. (Thinking about it now, it might have been free lunch for a month or so, then it changed to reduced price and eventually the benefit went away as our family household income increased). I remember standing in line, giving the coupon/vouchers to the lunch lady, and I was none-the-wiser that my family was any different than my classmates.

Ah, to be a naive kid again.

I eventually got around to asking my mom about why we were getting free/reduced price lunch and found out that while my family was not exactly dirt poor, we were certainly not rolling in money either.

What really opened my eyes though was what happened a few days later. While after school, I noticed a fellow classmate that’s also using the reduced lunch voucher getting picked up by his parent — in their brand new Mercedes. Needless to say, I was really confused.

Soon, I learned that the family in question was not necessarily cheating the welfare system, but was using what little money they had just to buy/lease (or however they got) the Mercedes.

Growing up in Southern California, this type of status symbol display quickly became the norm in life. You’ll quickly hear how so and so just bought a brand new car. Or a luxury watch. Or a luxury bag. Or high-end kicks. All this before I even graduated from high school (and I graduated from a lower-middle class high school).

So although there was a time when I was really car crazy (SoCal culture after all) — these days I really despise the car as a status symbol. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with buying a nice car. Who wouldn’t want a sweet bimmer that can do 0 to 60 in under 5 seconds? But when you can’t afford it and you straddle yourself with a tens of thousands of dollars in debt just to look good in other people’s eyes… you’re kind of a tool in my book.

Till this day, I still get the occasionally online inquiry from a random high school classmate: “Hey man, are you still driving that Honda Civic?”

What an ass.

What type of status symbols annoys you the most? Feel free to share in the comments below. And yes, I still drive my “old” 2001 Honda Civic :)

Well here’s a stupidly good deal that you really can’t pass up on (especially if you’re going to buy something at Amazon in the near future). LivingSocial.com is having a nation-wide deal on a $20 Amazon gift card, 50% off for $10. The deal started a couple of hours ago and went from 50,000 takers, to 200,000 to the now incredible 740,000 sign-ups (as of time of writing). Grab the deal fast as time is running out.

For those that aren’t familiar with Living Social (or sites like it such as Groupon), these are daily group-buy deal websites that presents you with usually location/local based deals. You can see from the screenshot above that they’re currently presenting me with Orange County, CA deals.

Groupon and LivingSocial have both been around for quite awhile now (about 2 years+), and both are legitimate companies offering local deals. If you’re wondering why and how Living Social is doing this sweet Amazon deal, in short, Amazon has invested about $175 million into Living Social in recent months. It’s unsurprising that they’d want more coverage and brand recognition for the company they’ve invested in, and its most likely Amazon is heavily subsidizing this particular deal.

Still Not a Big Fan Yet of Local Deal-of-the-Day Sites

Although I’m a big time bargain hunter, I still haven’t really taken advantage of any Groupon or Living Social, etc. deal sites yet. Simply put, most of the deals don’t really interest and/or entice me. A quick skim on local nearby deals shows that I can premium skin care in Los Angeles, discount on a cleaning agency in Orange County, and uh, yoga sessions in San Fernando Valley. Today’s Groupon deal shows $20 for $40 worth of scrapbooking supplies and classes at a local scrapbooking store:

Having said that, these deal-of-the-day group buying sites can be of great value to users and local businesses that sometimes promote on them (even if results are sometimes mixed). You can find and support local businesses that you may have never heard about before, and for the local small businesses, perhaps earn a new loyal customer.

Have you tried sites like Groupon and Living Social yet? If so, share your experience in the comments below.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the Amazon deal if you’re buying something from Amazon in the near future (the gift card will be available the following day).

A couple of weeks ago, I was in San Francisco and my friends and I were heading to the delicious Volcano Curry, where you can find decent portions of Japanese-style curry being served for a relatively good price.

On the way to the restaurant, I withdrew some cash from an East West Bank branch.  Upon seeing the ATM action, a person in the group asked if I banked with East West, and if I liked the bank.

“Oh actually, I have an account at Charles Schwab Bank, and they refund all ATM fees.  They’re pretty bad ass.”

“Ah, is Schwab a good bank then?”  the person asked.

“Good service so far. Haven’t got screwed yet so I like them.”

Its funny that my immediate thoughts and standard to the quality of a bank is how much, if any, has the bank taken advantage of me.

Charles Schwab, by all accounts, has very decent banking and financial products.  While I haven’t used my brokerage account heavily, I have used my checking account and debit card extensively while traveling , knowing full well that I’ll get a decent conversion rate if I withdraw cash while abroad, and the convenience of having any ATM fees refunded is also a nice perk.

Each time that I’ve called Schwab with a question, my call was answered promptly by a U.S. representative in a professional and courteous manner.  And yes, my questions and concerns are dealt with within the duration of the call.

Despite all these positive attributes, the quickest way I can convey to a person how much I like my bank is how little the bank has screwed me over.

What strange standards we have these days.